By Dawn Chmielewski, Mike Scarcella
(Reuters) -Streaming service FuboTV said on Monday it has agreed to end litigation against the three major media companies behind the live sports app Venu Sports after Walt Disney Co announced it would merge its Hulu + Live TV business with Fubo.
Disney, Fox and Warner Bros Discovery had been set to argue before the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday that a judge’s decision to block Venu’s launch improperly denied consumers access to a new, lower-cost service. The service was designed to appeal to price-conscious sports fans.
Fubofiled its suit in February 2024, saying Venu would violate U.S. antitrust law by reducing competition and driving up prices.
In a joint filing, Fubo said it was voluntarily dismissing its underlying lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan. Disney, Fox and Warner Bros dismissed their appeal.
Fubo in a statement on Monday said it has settled all litigation with Disney and ESPN related to Venu, and also settled all litigation with Fox and Warner Bros Discovery.
Disney said on Monday that it would combine its Hulu + Live TV business with Fubo. The deal would create the second-biggest internet pay-TV company in North America, behind YouTube TV, with around $6 billion in revenue and 6.2 million subscribers.
A judge ruled in August that Fubo was likely to succeed on its antitrust claims, and issued the injunction temporarily barring Venu’s launch.
In their appeal, Disney, Warner Bros and Fox said blocking Venu would decrease consumer choice and deny lower prices to consumers “all with the effect of shielding Fubo from competition.”
The U.S. Justice Department, New York, Illinois, California and other states in November urged the 2nd Circuit to uphold the preliminary injunction. Florida and five other states had asked the 2nd Circuit to reject the injunction.
(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles and Mike Scarcella in Washington; Editing by David Bario, Nia Williams and Will Dunham)
